Vise grip pliers having toggle release means



Feb. 28, 1967 c, H. ORTMAN 3,3fl6fi43 VISE GRIP PLIERS HAVING TOGGLE RELEASE MEANS Filed June 18, 1965 FlG l ppm-".4 urn-wan...

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1 INVENTOR. CHARLES H. ORTMAN ATTDRNEY United States Patent 3,306,143 VISE GRIP PLIERS HAVING TOGGLE RELEASE MEANS Charles H. Ortman, Chardon, Ohio, assignor of one-third to Ira J. Warner, Cleveland, Ohio Filed June 18, 1965, Ser. No. 464,908 1 Claim. (Cl. 81-368) The present invention relates to pliers and is an improvement in such tools known as the pivoted jaw vise p yp I An object of this invention is to provide pliers of the vise grip type having opposed pivoted and fixed jaws respectively, between which a workpiece can be engaged under powerful gripping forces while the pliers are in use.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the necessity for spring urged movable jaws either to a normally closed position or to a normally urged open position with respect to the fixed jaw.

Another object of this invention is to enable the movable jaw to be manually moved to any open or closed position within the limits of such movement to receive or remove a workpiece in or from between the fixed and movable jaws without the application of mechanical forces for such purpose.

A further object is the provision of pliers of this type of simple construction and which are easy to operate in use and which can be manufactured at relatively low cost.

A still further object is to provide means whereby upon initial relatively light gripping forces applied to a Workpiece placed between the fixed jaw and a freely movable pivoted jaw, the piece is held in position to receive additional powerful gripping pressures exerted through a closing movement applied to the handles of the pliers, and whereby the piece thus locked between the jaws may readily be released from its locked position without the use of mechanical forces to open the jaws.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following descrip tion and claim, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters are employed to designate like parts throughout the same. Other embodiments of the invention employing equivalent principles may be applied by those skilled in the art, and structural changes may be made as desired without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an embodiment of my invention showing a workpiece gripped and locked between the relatively movable jaws of the pliers;

FIGURE 2 is a View similar to that of FIGURE 1 with the exception that it is shown in longitudinal section and that the jaws are in open position and the locking mechanism is released;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of FIG- URE 1; and

FIGURE 6 is a modified form of the stop means.

In the embodiment shown, the fixed jaw 1 is formed on the forward end of the fixed handle 2 which is of channel form in cross section. The rear end of the handle 2 terminates in a substantially cylindrical form and is internally threaded to adjustably receive a screw 3 having a knurled head 4 on its outer end. A pair of spaced apart ears 5 depend from the rear end portion of the handle, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, and a 3,305,143 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 ice pin 6 is provided for pivotally carrying a cam member 7 to which a grip extension 8 is fixed.

A movable jaw 9 is provided opposite the fixed jaw 1 and has an arm 10 which extends into the channel of the handle 2 and is pivotally supported therein by means of a transverse pin 11. A movable handle 12 is pivotally connected at its forward end to the heel portion of the movable jaw by means of a pin 13 and extends rearwardly in channel form 14 terminating in a flat cam engaging surface 15. As shown in FIGURE 1, with the jaws in workpiece gripping position, the heel 16 of the cam 7 engages the flat surface 15 of the handle 12 and the extension 8, and the flat portion 15 will be disposed in substantial parallel relation, while in FIGURE 2 the members 8 and 15 will be disposed in angular relation and the cam heel 16 will be out of contact with the flat portion 15 when the workpiece is released.

There is also provided a lever 17 having a rearwardly extending relatively long arm 18 and a generally oppositely and angularly extending relatively short arm 19, the lever being pivotally carried in the channel portion of the movable handle 12 by means of a transverse pin 20. The arm 19 is coupled to the handle 12 under tension of the coiled spring 21 which exerts only sufiicient force to normally urge the longer arm 18 of the lever into the position shown in both FIGURES l and 2, that is, to retain the outer free end 22 of the arm 18 within the channel of the handle 2 adjacent the cylindrical end portion 23 of the handle 2 and against the base of the channel so that its free end is in substantial alignment with and for abutting engagement with the inner end 24 of the screw 3.

In use, and since the movable jaw 9 is free of mechanically imposed forces tending either to close it or open it with respect to the fixed jaw 1, the jaw 9 may be positioned manually to space it from the jaw 1 sufiiciently to receive a workpiece W therebetween, as indicated in FIGURE 2. The jaw 9 is then manually moved toward the workpiece as in FIGURE 1 to initially engage the same simply under manual pressure. At this time, with the screw 3 having been previously withdrawn sufiiciently to permit the jaws to be spaced a distance sufficient to receive the workpiece, the screw is then adjusted forwardly to bring its end 24 into abutting engagement with the end 22 of the lever arm 18.

When the parts are so adjusted, the handles 2 and 12 are gripped and squeezed toward one another causing an imaginary straight line passing through the portion 22 of the lever and through the center 13 while lying above the center 20, as viewed in FIGURE 2, to shift, as in FIGURE 1, past a dead center and to then lie below the center 21). During this action, and as a result of relatively light manual closing pressure on the handles, the workpiece W between the jaws will be subjected to greatly multiplied powerful gripping forces and will so remain even though the operator may release his hold and lay the tool and workpiece W down upon a supporting surface.

To quickly release the piece from the jaws, it is only necessary to grip the extension 8 and member 15 and move them relatively toward each other. This will cause the heel 16 of the cam 7 to act as an initial fulcrum against the flat surface 15 and to thus permit the imaginary line to return to its normal position, as in FIGURE 2, by passing the dead center as defined by the pin 20. The movable jaw is then easily adjustable manually to any position not only to release the piece therebetween but Within its limits of movement to receive a piece of different thickness or width, depending of course upon the axial position or adjustment of the screw 3 in the fixed handle. For a piece having a greater thickness or width than the piece W, it will be seen that it will be necessary to wtihdraw the screw 3 even a greater distance than that shown in the figures to permit a wider initial opening of the jaws.

In FIGURE 6 I have shown a slight modification of the invention in which a compressible member, such as a coiled spring 26, may be anchored at one end in an opening 25 in the end 24 of the screw 3 and extends forwardly to engage the end 22 of the lever arm 18. By such means, the operator of the tool may easily detect by touch the increased compression of the spring 26 as it engages the end 22 and, under full compression, when full pressure is brought to bear on the end 22.

It will thus be seen that the extreme simplicity of construction, the ease of operation, the elimination of the necessity for use of mechanical forces in order to initially bring the jaws into initial holding contact on the piece prior to the application of multiplied powerful gripping forces, and the provision of simple means whereby extreme powerful gripping forces may be brought to bear on the piece, all contribute to a highly desirable tool of this type.

It is to be understood from the foregoing description and accompanying drawing that the vise grip pliers of the present invention is not to be regarded as limited by the above described embodiment. It will be apparent therefore to those skilled in the art that other alternative arrangements of parts, substitution of materials and other organization and assembly procedures may be employed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention claimed.

I claim:

In pliers of the vise grip type comprising a channeled handle having a relatively fixed jaw, a movable jaw pivotally supported on said handle and cooperating with the fixed jaw for gripping a piece therebetween, a movable handle pivotally connected at its forward end to said pivoted jaw and rearwardly of the center defining the pivotal axis thereof, said last named handle terminating in a rearwardly disposed cam engaging fiat portion, a lever having a rearwardly extending relatively long arm and a substantially forwardly extending relatively short arm, said lever being pivotally supported on said movable handle, the free end of said longer arm disposed within and slidable along the channel of the first handle, tension means connecting said movable handle with said lever short arm whereby to normally urge the free end of the longer arm toward the base of the channeled handle, an adjustable stop for limiting the extent of movement of the rearwardly extending end of the lever along the channel and providing an abutment against which the said lever end is engaged when gripping a piece in the jaws, compressible means between the stop and said rear end of the longer arm of the lever, said stop being adjustable to effect an initial clamping grip on the piece preliminary to the application of a multiplied gripping force on the piece as the result of a closing movement of the handles sufficient to shift the center defining the pivotal axis of the lever with the movable handle, past an imaginary straight line intersecting the rear end portion of the longer arm in the channel and the center defining the pivotal axis of the movable jaw in the movable handle, said tension means exerting its force substantially entirely upon the lever, while leaving the movable jaw substantially free of the influence of said tension means for freedom of movement in either direction about its pivotal axis while receiving a piece between the jaws, and means pivotally carried by the fixed handle and having a cam surface engageable with the flat portion of the movable handle for releasing the multiplied pressure on the piece through the jaws.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,592,807 4/1952 Jones 81369 2,714,198 7/1955 Schloetzer 81-379 X 2,966,818 1/1961 Froeschl 81-369 FOREIGN PATENTS 475,450 7/ 1951 Canada. 815,667 7/1959 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

G, WEIDENFELD, Assistant Examiner, 

